


F:NV

by harcane



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:13:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8532601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harcane/pseuds/harcane
Summary: This is a personal project. A telling of the background shenanigans with my original characters set during the Fallout:NV storyline. It's going to be... really gay and disturbing.





	1. i

"Ave." He called, walking forth with an air of confidence. Perhaps it was fearlessness. He pressed a boot down on Killian's chest and gazed down at him."Profligate... do you know who.. -what I am?" Beside his face, rays from the midday desert sun were blinding. He appeared to Killian as a shadow. 

Killian had not needed a clear view, or a sound mind, to know what the man was. He licked the blood off his teeth and swallowed, then squinted and turned his head away from the sun. His breathing was labored. Muscles and mind ached as he considered his next move.

"Degenerate. Again... are you coherent?" He demanded to know, picking up his boot and swinging it into Killian's ribs. 

Killian choked and coughed up blood, jerking to his side to spit in the dirt. "Legion," he uttered. There was still fight in him but it was quickly fading. 

"Louder, profligate," he commanded. "your tone is weak. _Are you?_ " 

"I am," Killian sighed, and it was barely audible.

He focused his gaze to the blinding sky. Flashes of his recent traumas clouded his vision. There was a sensation of being in all these places once more, having to relive the suffering. He unwittingly clenched his fists, then his jaw. Every muscle within his skin felt heavy, and far too tense.

He had killed innocents. He let his squad be captured. He was too fragile to fight off the addiction to chems. He was too weak to escape the captors sooner. Killian could not--did not--save them, only himself.

Forced back into present, the legionary's voice hissed in his ear. 

"I beg to differ." He removed his boot from his chest and extended a partially gloved hand. 

Killian simply stared at the gesture. "Won't kill me, then?"

"I offer you a position."

"Of slave?" 

The legionary laughed at that and scanned him from behind shaded goggles. "No. There are options." 

Killian slowly sat up, propping himself by his elbows. He allowed the open wounds on his forearms to sting against the warm sand. "And those are...?" 

"Accept my help, or die here."

A bitter smile crept across Killian's face and he let his head fall back. He tried to chuckle at the response, but it fell short of a whisper. His words came out as paced grunts. "You're too kind... 'slavery or death.' I'll take death." He laid down on his back against the desert once more. He sensed that he was beginning to succumb to the heat, his sickness, and the agony of the chem withdrawal. Death would have been a kindness. 

The legionary spat beside him, then gestured for his men to approach. "Not while I have use of you..." he murmured in Killian's ear.

The men came forth and awaited further orders. One had a weapon at the ready, assuming they would be asked to dispose of him. 

"Sheathe that," the legionary demanded. "Assist him to the camp."


	2. ii

Though masked, some of the scouts and spies exchanged glances. It was a hesitant response but they knew to fall in line. One said, "Yes, Iudas." They formed around Killian where he laid. 

Killian felt cold water dripping on his arms. It washed over his wounds and gave relief to his scorched skin. Then, he felt the canteen touch his lips as Iudas made him drink. His stomach was too uneasy from the ingestion of raw flesh and blood but he used the water to clean the coppery taste from his mouth. Iudas poured the rest on Killian's face and it felt like bliss.

He remembered bathing and drinking the day before but the withdrawal had caused him to continuously empty his stomach. The supply had not even been enough to keep the heat exhaustion at bay. 

For a moment, his guard was down. There was something comforting about being in another's possession. In a sense, he felt unburdened of responsibility. As ill as Killian was, his vision faded. He was always too weak. Or perhaps there was simply something too enticing about risk.

When he next opened his eyes, he was no longer staring into the legionary's shadowed, calculating gaze. Instead, there was a dim light next to him flickering away: a lantern. There were white and tan canvas materials draped above him; the bottom was lined with furs. Before he could settle his conclusions, the legionary named Iudas entered, brushing the tent flap out of his way. 

"You did not die, degenerate... _Bene._ "

"Didn't want to survive."

"Perhaps you didn't wish, but I did. I have plans for you."

Killian panicked on the inside but he did not dare express it. Always onto the next step, he reasoned that he would do whatever he could to simply bide his time and escape. The NCR would accept him back and give him the help he needs. Or he would find chems somewhere, somehow, and just keep running. Maybe it was best to stay away from people. 

He recalled everything he knew of Caesar's Legion, even the wild rumors, to have at his disposal. They weren't known for taking prisoners or, better yet, going out of their way to keep them alive. The Legion was violent through principle; Killian knew it best to play nice, at least for now, if he wanted to survive. 

Not even wanting to know what the plans were, Killian instead quietly asked him, "Why?" 

"You waste your potential."

"I don't have any. I'm just a drifter."

"You're no drifter," the legionary spat. "I saw you take down that man. You came from north and west... You are unmistakably a citizen of the New California Republic... but I wonder: who trained you?"

Iudas unsheathed a machete, gave it a quick toss in the air and gripped the handle. Panic arose in Killian more swiftly than before. The legionary already knew he was a soldier of the NCR. 

Even if he played the lying game, it was only a matter of time before he saw the tattoo. NCR pride was not worth his death, or now, even his life. But that hadn't mattered now. 

Iudas stroked the scruff on his chin and knelt beside Killian. He scanned his face. 

"Probably.. too much brutality for NCR. You do not carry the arrogance of a Ranger, either."

Killian would have breathed a sigh of relief, if he could, but he was unwavering as he held Iudas' gaze. 

He caught a glimpse of wonder in Iudas' eyes. Killian gulped. He couldn't help it. Wondering if it escaped the legionary's notice, he resumed their stare. 

"A tribal, then? _Placeo..._ their ideals are weak, and the culture ridiculous. I will easily break you of that life, if it lingers."

Killian said nothing but gave a subtle frown. He was wrong, but it was better for Iudas to believe he was correct. Remaining silent, he moved his gaze to the white canvas ceiling, while feeling Iudas' eyes examine him. The feeling never really left him, and he did not expect it would go away anytime soon.


	3. iii

"Degenerate, you may speak... in fact, I encourage it. Before I, again, decide to press my boot to your throat."

Killian did not know much about the tribals, at least no more than the common man. Although, there was one tribe rising in power.  
"I'm a Great Khan.. ex-Khan," he began his lie.

"And why no longer?" Iudas wondered aloud.

For reasons still unknown, the legionary wanted him alive. Chances were, Killian thought, Iudas would want to appeal to him. There was a potential advantage in that.

"Drug runner. Kept a shipment for myself and... I'm an addict. Can't go back," he explained. With adrenaline running through him, his stomach lurched and he began to sweat. 

"I fail to see how keeping a degenerate addict around will benefit me. You will need drugs I'm forbidden from acquiring," Iudas sighed. "This puts me in an awkward position... If I don't have a reason to let you live by dawn, I must grant your wish to die." 

The legionary seemed disappointed in this outcome, so Killian attempted to sway him. 

"If I have the chems, I can fight even better than what you saw. I-I'll fight for you," Killian reasoned. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Iudas didn't say anything but he thoughtfully looked him over. Maintaining a stern and somewhat unimpressed expression, he met his eyes again, asking silently for something more convincing.

"I'll do whatever you want, when you get me the chems," he pleaded, then corrected himself, "I'll kill in exchange. I know my way around guns, too."

Iudas raised a brow as Killian finished speaking. Then, there was that dreaded spark in his eye. The corners of his mouth twisted into a wicked grin. 

"You bargain with me," he stated, almost teasingly, as if he won a game, "You _do_ wish to live. But where in that do I have your true loyalty? Correct, profligate; you will kill for me. But it will be because you want to. A desire to please me is going to bleed into every thought you have."

Killian couldn't help but narrow his gaze at him. The legionary spoke as if he believed it. 

Iudas noticed his expression but paid no mind. "Rest," he told him, "Tell me the chemical and I will find it tonight. My men won't question me and you will not speak to any of them. They will be instructed not to disturb you but, in the event that you leave my tent, they will pursue you."

Killian gave a subtle nod and instructed him on what sort of things to search for. There was no need to purchase if he could make it himself. He certainly knew how, after being held by the Fiends. They had cooked and shot up in front of him most nights, before inserting three times their doses into him. Killian had to see for himself the junkie it made him, night after night. 

Iudas interrupted his flashbacks. "Drink the water and rest." He placed his canteen next to the lantern and went to leave, not waiting for Killian to say anything more.

"Your lessons--true lessons--will begin tomorrow, after you've had your... 'fix'."


End file.
